The Phenomenological Method Tool is a means to understand the meaning of our conscious experience. When people are communicating, they are using words as a representation of something in their experience like emotions, things they perceive or their thoughts. We can better understand ourselves and others if we are able to determine the meaning of what the individual is conscious of.
The Phenomenological Method is useful to understand the meaning of things from the perceiver's perspective. If we are trying to understand or communicate with others, doing so within their terms and context creates meaning within their understanding. First, learn the other person's perspective and how they understand it, then use new terms to connect to the way that they understand their world to the meaning you want to impart on them. Having a sense of the way the other understands the world, then creating bridges of associations to connect external terms to their internal world can increase understanding.
Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) was one of the first people to fully develop the idea of phenomenology as the philosophical study of the structure of consciousness and experience. When being phenomenological, one suspends judgment when listening to another communicate and attempts to determine the meaning of what the individual is expressing within the context of their experience.
Intentionality
Franz Brentano (1838-1917) first discussed the concept of intentionality in terms of our conscious experience. Brentano determined that when we are conscious, we are always conscious of something; a certain ‘aboutness.’
Every mental phenomenon is characterized by...the intentional (or mental) inexistence of an object, and what we might call, though not wholly unambiguously, reference to a content, direction towards an object (which is not to be understood here as meaning a thing), or immanent objectivity. Every mental phenomenon includes something as object within itself, although they do not all do so in the same way. In presentation something is presented, in judgement something is affirmed or denied, in love loved, in hate hated, in desire desired and so on. This intentional in-existence is characteristic exclusively of mental phenomena. No physical phenomenon exhibits anything like it. We could, therefore, define mental phenomena by saying that they are those phenomena which contain an object intentionally within themselves. (Brentano PES)
Principle of Charity
The principle of charity is when we take the most rational or convincing interpretation of an argument of what someone is communicating. If we seek to understand the meaning of terms within the framework of others, we can rebuild parts of their belief system that may have issues with the critical thinking or philosophy of science tools.
It is important to understand the meaning of what one is perceiving or attempting to communicate instead of directly disagreeing or negating what the other person is saying. Sometimes we can have false information that needs to be corrected. It is important to not focus on ‘being right’ but understanding what the other is attempting to communicate and helping them convey their message in a more reasonable way if needed.
CBT
When identifying cognitive distortions in ourselves or others, it is important to look for what the distorted thought is representing and restructure the thought in a way that is more realistic. Having a dismissive approach towards distorted thoughts can be frustrating to the person who is in a negative emotional state and is trying to use their language to communicate that state. It is important to be compassionate towards the individual and allow them to feel that the meaning of what they are speaking or thinking about is legitimate. The replacement of the distorted thought is important so that the individual does not make their emotional state worse through the belief in the distorted thought.
Techniques:
1. Be Loving and Consistent
Whenever I interact with a person I do so in a loving way and I am consistent in my positive regard for them.
2. Listening
Before we can understand someone we must listen to them.
3. Being There
Being present in someone's life is sometimes all we can do. There is value in not enabling destructive behaviour, but essentially our presence as a loving friend is one of the most important things we can do. See Being There film Tool. (Edit Link)
4. Guide at Critical Moments
At certain moments in people lives they are more susceptible to influence from people that they trust. If we can be loving and consistent in their lives, there will come a time when we can make a recommendation for them that they will be more willing to accept change.
AJ 10.2.18, 26.2.18, 7.3.18, 14.3.18, 27.3.20
Link to Brentano’s ‘Psychology from an Empirical Perspective’:
ISBN: 978-1138019171
© Achilles Atlas Justice and achillesjustice.com, 2018 - 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Achilles Atlas Justice and achillesjustice.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Comments